Rajasthan Royals Start Favourites Against Deccan Chargers

Jaipur, Apr 16: Back on home turf after a comprehensive victory in their previous match, Rajasthan Royals would start firm favourites when they take on the struggling Deccan Chargers in an IPL match here tomorrow.

Riding on Ajinkya Rahane’s unbeaten hundred and Owais Shah’s blazing fifty, Rajasthan beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 59 runs in Bangalore last night to recover from back-to-back losses in Kolkata and Mumbai.

The biggest positive to be drawn from last night’s win was the cracking form of Rahane and Shah.

Champions of the inaugural IPL, Rajasthan have also benefitted from the experience of their captain Rahul Dravid, who has filled in the void left by Shane Warne quite commendably so far.

Rahane, the orange cap holder for the moment, has been the pick of the batsmen and has emerged as the only centurion so far in the current edition of the IPL.

The 23-year-old impressed with his shot-selection and temperament last night.

Shah, too, has been outstanding and has delivered when the situation has demanded as far as accelerating the run rate is concerned.

Dravid has also been able to forge good opening partnerships with Rahane so far while the rest of the batting comprising Ashok Menaria and Brad Hodge have been Impressive.

Their bowling line-up, which is devoid of any big names, has also been consistent. Medium pacers like Sidhartha Trivedi, Amit Singh, Kevon Cooper and Pankaj Singh have taken their chances.